Jamaican lottery scam costs elderly woman $20K

STOCKTON - A local prosecutor is warning the public of ongoing lottery scams that con victims out of thousands of dollars after an elderly Escalon woman was recently cheated out of $20,000.

Jennie Rodriguez-Moore

STOCKTON - A local prosecutor is warning the public of ongoing lottery scams that con victims out of thousands of dollars after an elderly Escalon woman was recently cheated out of $20,000.

In a rare capture, investigators have traced the woman's financial activity to a New York man who now is being charged in San Joaquin County.

Larry Joseph, 56, was extradited and booked into the County Jail Sept. 24.

"We have been hearing about these cases for the last five years fairly frequently, and this is one of the first times we were able to trace the money to a real person's bank account," said Deputy District Attorney Sherri Adams.

The 89-year-old Escalon woman was contacted in 2012 by an individual who said she was the winner of the Jamaican lottery. In order to receive her monetary winnings as well as a brand new Mercedes, she was told, she had to send a cashier's check of $8,000. She mailed it to an address in Los Angeles.

Adams said that in a follow-up call in January 2013, the woman was contacted by a person named Larry Joseph, who requested an additional $12,000. She mailed another cashier's check - this one to New York.

The woman's concerned family and her bank - banks are mandated reporters - notified authorities of the suspicious transactions.

Authorities were able to intercept yet another $25,000 check the Escalon woman had mailed to Joseph during the investigation.

And authorities also intercepted a $3,000 check that had been mailed to the woman from an elderly man in San Francisco, who prosecutors believe also was a victim of the scam.

Adams said lottery schemers often have victims send money to other victims to make it appear as though the recipient is receiving part of their winnings.

Another common tactic is to have someone call the victim acting as a law enforcement officer who assures the victim the lottery is legitimate.

Joseph continually contacted the Escalon woman in order to gain her trust, Adams said.

"I just want it known that this does happen and these people are very clever," Adams said.

Authorities were lucky in Joseph's case, Adams said. But many times the perpetrators cannot be tracked down.

Money is typically mailed to other countries. Perpetrators also are known to have victims buy prepaid cards to avoid banks reporting the activity. And sometimes victims have been known to be too embarrassed to come forward.

In the Escalon woman's case, bank records show Joseph cashed her $12,000 check and mailed a portion of it to Jamaica.

Adams believes Joseph has conned more victims with his lottery scheme, but those individuals reside in areas outside San Joaquin County jurisdiction.

Adams wants to spread awareness about the scams in hopes of preventing more victimization.

"If you need to pay anything, it's a scam. Hang up," Adams said. "These people call almost on a daily or weekly basis."

They become your friend, she said.

"If you won something, nobody should ever ask you to send them money," Adams said.

Joseph is awaiting trial, held on $150,000 bail. He is charged with theft from an elder and attempted theft from an elder.

If convicted, the court could sentence Joseph to a maximum of four years and six months behind bars, Adams said.